>> the machine knows. >> stop yelling at me. >> it is not just on "the office" this sort of thing happens. in august a man followed his gps instructions in to a harbor in alaska. in march, three tourists drove a rented car in to the bay. why? because the gps told them to of course. the tide rose. they had to bail out of the car and get a tow truck driver to pick them up. technology is winning, people. we rely on these devices but when they tell us to drive in to bodies of water or croatia i think we have to take a step back. i'd take a step back but i'm starting to sound like the drunk uncle from saturday night live. >> these days it is like could you e-mail me dinner, fax me a hug. text me, text me, text me. why don't you write a letter, dummy. spotify me. barf. you know what i want a groupon for?

a moment's peace. >> in conclusion it is always a good idea to trust your instincts more and gadgets less or else you might take a wrong turn on to the ridiculist. thanks for watching. "early start" begins now. breaking news this morning. a helicopter crashes in the heart of london during rush show hour. we'll go live to london. and the company's much hyped dream liners grounded in japan. and a streftch of rain, sno and ice could put a damper on travel plans. welcome to "early start." >> it is wednesday, january 16th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. we begin with breaking news this morning. that breaking news, a help

copter has crashed into a crane at a construction site in central london. this is a very busy part of the city. happened during rush hour. emergency personnel have raced to the scene. you can see it right therener the vauxhall train station. >> and zain verjee because just live on cnn international, telling us exactly what's going on there. she said that two fatalities in this crash. she said someone on the ground in a burning car had been taken to the hospital and she said it had really tied up traffic in that area. emergency in central london, you have a crane on top of a building and then you have a helicopter that crashes into it and what kind of -- just the spread of the flames and the damage on the ground. i'm told zane is with us now. you're there in london. you're reporting the story for me. you can tell me what the latest is from your vantage point? >> reporter: again, casualties,

two dead and two people in hospital. and there was a dramatic scene where the london fire brigades were essentially saying that they basically had to pull someone from a burning car who is now in hospital. it's a dramatic morning here in l london. fire balls in a major commuter area. think of a major area in new york city or penn state shutting down. that's exactly what's happened. a helicopter crashed into a crane on a really, really tall building in this particular area. and then what happened was it tumbled on to a major road, crashed on top of two cars. the emergency services got there on the scene pretty quickly and the fire got out sort of within 45 minutes or so. there's a major gridlock and hundreds of commuters are now stuck and they're walking to work. >> we had audio issues at the beginning. just to confirm, you said there are two confirmed deaths now

from this incident? >> yeah, the officials have come out and said two people are dead. it's not clear whether the pilot -- there is believed to have been only one pilot on bou board the helicopter -- is one of the casualties. it seems unlikely that would he have survived. but, yeah, two in hospital, one pulled from a burning car. vauxhall is an area, guys, that you'll hear from the james bond movi movies. this is where the secret service is, mi c ichlmi-5. u.s. embassy is supposed to move to this part of town. but this is the scene today and it's just really lucky that the helicopter didn't crash into a huge building that had been filled with people or a big housing development which is what exists around that. >> la about visibility? there was one eyewitness who said you couldn't see the top part of the crane in the london

fog. >> reporter: that is one of the major questions being asked. visibility is a problem this morning. conditions are really bad. in fact there were a lot of delays around the area for helicopters and planes coming in and out because there was such poor visibility. this helicopter veered quite significantly off the route. there are a lot of helicopters that go back and forth because there's a huge helipad close to the area and it's busy from like 6:00 a.m. in the morning until 10:00 at night. so it's not unusual to have that kind of traffic. but this veered off course obviously and advise avisibilit issue. >> i understand the crane may have been attached to a building which is supposed to be one of the tallest residential towers in the city under construction. >> reporter: right. st. george's wharf under construction. such a new building that if you look on google map, you won't even see the building itself. you just see the foundation of it. so just very recently been

constructed. so the crane was on top of this building and that's what the helicopter crashed into. so that's one of the main concerns now, guys. you'll remember the crane after hurricane sandy in new york, well, here's a crane in central l london with the exact same issue. authorities are describing it as being in a precarious issue. reports it just snapped in two and is just dangling there. a lot of people in the area have been evacuated and people will so shocked that it could very easily have crashed into a major commuter area, in it buildings already filled with people. >> really one of the perils of the big urban areas especially when talking about rush hour in central london or you mentioned hurricane sandy and that crane in new york. you've got an awful lot of people, very tall buildings, active construction sites. commuters trying to get to work.

people working on buildings and air traffic, as well. >> talk to me about the response mechanisms in place in london. london went through its own terror attacks. we don't think there's any connection here to that. but london really changed the way it operated after such things. >> reporter: it did. and we just had the olympics and queen's jubilee. so all the security and emergency service responses were right on. everyone was ready to go if anything happened. according to eyewitnesses i spoke to, they say that the emergency services responded extremely quickly. they have something like eight fire engines, four fire rescue units and 65 firefighters on the ground there. so nothing's being ruled out. we're waiting to get more information from scotland yard about this incident. but no one has talked about terrorism, but it may just have been an unfortunate accident

that one pilot just took the wrong route and ended up creating awful and dramatic scenes like this that one would never have imagined first thing in the morning waking up to a commute. imagine you guys going into work in new york city and this is what you see. this is what commuters are experiencing today. how people will get to work and how long it will take, no one really knows. >> it is a vivid picture to look at. we'll check back in with you as soon as we can. again, the news is at least two people killed now in a helicopter crash in a very busy section of london. we'll bring you more as it comes in. you are on other big story this morning, the entire fleet of boeing 787 dream liners grounded by two of japan's largest airlines, after yet another safety problem. we're talking about 24 planes total. this time a passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing after another possible battery error and smoke in the cockpit. this is the latest and most serious of incidents with the

plane many see as the future of commercial aviation. federal regulators promised sweeping review of the jet after several issues in the past two weeks. >> you've been all over this story. this is trouble for boeing. >> this is supposed to be the future of aviation. this is a complex high tech plane. it started as sort of an exercise in outsourcing. they had engines and fuselage and electronics made from companies all around the world and boeing put it all together. an from the beginning there were opponents who said when you let go of the manufacturing process, use the engineering of such a big complex plane, you'll have problems. some of those anti-outsourcing people are saying we told you so. this doesn't look like it's -- the problem isn't where things were manufactured. it looks like they're trying to work out the kinks. >> tense moments for an important company. in washington, in the wake of the aurora shooting, newtown massacre and ambush in new york, president obama will unveil his

gun control plan today. it calls for universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, a ban on high xhas magazines that hold more than ten rounds, and most of funding for mental health programs. in the month since the newtown massacre, the debate over gun control has intensified with membership in the national rifle association reportedly surging. the nra is touting some 250,000 new members and vowing to fight the president's plan saying their second amendment rights are under attack. dan lothian is following all these developments in washington. what's the latest? >> the white house sees these recommendations as a way to hopefully curb gun violence and some of these things the president has backed before such as a ban on assault weapons. the president shortly after the connecticut shootings came out in support of that. so that's expected to be in the president's plan. also pressing for a ban on those high capacity magazines with more than ten rounds. that's the important note here.

the aim here is to cut down on the ability of a gunman to go in and release up to 30 rounds in a short period of time. in addition, the president will be pushing for universal background checks so that everyone who buys aunder questi goes a criminal or mental health check. in addition the president wants to request funds be available for mental health illnesst to make sure there's money there for those things to be treated and to provide schools with the support they need for enhanced safety. the president is also expected to touch on some issues that could be done through executive action. jay carney saying the president realizes there are limits to what can he do on his own through this kind of action. in a >> and the president also facing fierce opposition from the national rifle association and others. >> and we've heard this now for

several weeks where the nra is very concerned about whatever the president puts out there, stepping on their second amendment rights. so they're pushing back very hard, releasing a television ad highly critical of the president. take a listen. >> are the president's kids more important than yours? then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school? >> will ad this ad is expected running on the sports man channel and in addition it will be posted online. clearly a big pr push here by the nra at the same time that the president is rolling out his recommendations. >> that ad hugely controversial overnight. a lot of people saying the president's children should be off-limits. obviously that commercial puts his children front and center. dan lothian in washington. thanks for being with us this morning. keep it here. later this morning, wolf blitzer

will anchor special coverage as the president unveils his gun control plan starting at 11:30 a.m. most of america hasn't especially sn it yet, but lance armstrong's tv confession to oprah winfrey making plenty of waves. we'll have the latest on that. and we're following this breaking story out of london, a helicopter crashed near a train station in central london. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

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if you're just joining us, a helicopter has crashed into a crane in a construction site in central london. this is part of a very busy part of london and it happened right in the middle of rush hour when commuters were headed to work. so far there are two confirmed deaths,s t two more taken to th

hospital. after the confession comes the fallout. lance armstrong admit to go oprah winfrey that his years of angry, angry denials about doping was all one big selfish lie. he fessed up during an interview which will air in two parts, tomorrow night and friday on own network. we don't know the full extent of his confession, but oprah says she's satisfied. >> i choose not to characterize. i would rather people make their own decisions about whether he was contrite or not. i felt that he was thoughtful, i thought that he was serious. i thought that he certainly had prepared himself for this moment. >> george howell is live in austin. you've covered lance armstrong from the early days in his cycling career. how are people reacting there in

his hometown? >> reporter: it is a mixed bag. i was a reporter here in austin long before this bike shop existed that armstrong co-owns here in austin. i even grew up here. is this my hometown, too. and i remember watching lance armstrong come along, watching him win big once, twice, three times and so on. he not only inspired people as an athlete, but also a cancer survivor. he became a real symbol for the city of austin, real source of pride. but now you can't help but feel let down. and that's what you hear on the streets of austin. take a listen. >> i actually was not surprised. i had lost a lot of respect for him a years ago because i had a feeling that there was some truth to the rumors. >> reporter: some people are disappointed certainly but haven't lost sight of the good things that he's done in his

career, cancer charities like livestrong, people saying there will shouldn't be a cloud over those things given what's happening now. >> we've heard rumors that he might testify against others. any word from anti-doping officials on this? >> reporter: well, keep in mind that is what it would take for authorities to reconsider the life time ban ghens him for owe lhim against him for olympic shorts. no official word, but the world anti-doping agency made it clear that it would take an oath, he'd have to testify under oath and tell them everything that he those about doping. that has not happened to this point. what we're talking about come thursday is a television interview, far different from testifying under oath. >> i think lance armstrong is trying to put this behind him or somehow have a public television redemption campaign.

in the end, he lied. he cheated. and many people say he bullied anyone who got in his way. i mean, i don't know how you overcome that. i think that's more than just disappointment. i mean, i think that -- i don't know how you getoff tha over th. >> you talk to people here, people are disappointed, but they talk about the good things that he's done, as well. they hope that there is no cloud over those things. but all eyes are on what he has to say in his own words come thursday that he did take part in doping. >> thanks, george howell in austin. an updated version of the cnn documentary the world according to lance armstrong will air sunday, 10:00 p.m. eastern, with replays at 1:00 and 4:00. it will include the oprah winfrey interview. >> that should be interesting. quite a world it's turning out to be. federal money for some storm sandy victims should be in the

pipeline by the end of the month. house lawmakers approved more than $50 billion in relief for the states ravaged by the storm. the money did not come easily and it left a lot of homeless cold and confused people waiting. final passage comes 2 1/2 months after sandy pounded the northeast. the disaster aid package will be considered again by the senate following the inauguration. we've had icy, slippery conditions on the morning commute. a winter storm, sleet and black ice posing a threat from the mid south to the northeast. jennifer joins us from atlanta. >> you have the rain there, but we're still talking about freezing rain affecting the tennessee valley as well as the lower mississippi valley. the radar is lighting up with rain. you can see the wintry mix. as we zoom in for you, for areas like eastern tennessee as well as into kentucky, you'll be dealing with that wintry mix. we are seeing thing things clearing out to the west and

down towards the south, including parts of alabama as well as into georgia, including atlanta. heavy rainfall some of these locations we're talking another one to two inches of rainfall. up to the north, snow is going to be the big story. we're already getting that report for areas like new york as well as into central parts of connecticut as well as into pennsylvania. as we help you time this out for you, for the ice storm warning, it will really come to an end about 6:00 a.m. central time for areas including parts of the lower mississippi valley. and for regions like pittsburgh as well as into parts of new york, we're talking some snow and beewe're also talking winte weather advisory until 4:00 p.m. some of these locations will pick up two to four inches of snow and look for parts of boston, we'll be looking for snow through about drive time and could see some sleet. to give you an idea how big of an area that's affected, we're talking 1700 mile area with the

winter weather advisory right now. once we get this out of the way, we'll start to see better weather by friday. but still a little cool through parts of the midwest. but mild down towards the south. nice rebound for parts of texas that had the freezing rain. >> all right, jennifer, thank you very much. i give you personal visual confirmation of about two inches in new york city. >> make sure your cell phone is charged in the northeast on your way to work this morning for sure. a black eye for blowing oe . dreel dreamliner yets grounded. zzzquil™ sleep-aid. ] it's not for colds. it's not for pain. it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil™. the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil®. progress-oh! [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!"

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androgel 1.62%. minding your business this morning, more problems for boeing. one of its dreamliner aircraft forced to make a landing in japan. this is the plane on the runway. while in flight, two cockpit alarms went off and a burning smell was detected. the plane was traveling to tokyo. several people were injured, all dreamliners operated by japan airlines and ana have been grounded. boeing stock can down 2% overnight. everything from leaks to battery fires and brake problems. this is an aircraft that is supposed to be the future of

aviation. richard quest joins us there seoul. why so many problems with this plane? there are multiple investigations into just what's going on. >> reporter: absolutely. the faa review of design manufacture and assembly. now the japanese say they'll have a review of the aircraft. boeing say the glitches you expect in a brand new revolutionary plane p a more efficient way of flying. but there are questions and the core question goes as to whether there have been problems in the supply chain. were the parts, are there issues, is there something smelly under the hood that they need to get grips with. so far there is no evidence of that. what we do have is a series of unrelated, uncoordinated issues that affect reliability and,

yes, whether eveyes r yes, will eventually affect confidence in the aircraft. clearly i know boeing is treating this at the highest levels of seniority. >> and they should be. this was the biggest experiment in the outsourcing of complicated engineering, right? you had different companies hammiham i handling different components. someone described to me they're teething the aircraft. it's still scary for passengers. >> no question. but what i would say on that question because the core question everyone is really asking, is it still safe to fly. and that really comes to the nub of it and the answer is yes.redundant systems, secondary system, warning lights, alarms,

that is all working. that is small comfort to the airlines that don't have their expensive planes in the air earning revenue. and you're right, it does raise questions for passengers who look at it and think what am i getting in to on this aircraft. overall, boeing has to prove quite quickly, a, that there is a no problem long term with reliability, and, b, for consumers, that their flights will use on time, will not be delayed and that the plane is as i believe safe. >> richard, we'll talk to you in the next hour, what international business travelers should be doing. thank you, sir. coming up, we'll have more on this breaking story. the rush hour crash of a helicopter right into central london. t for myself. with so much noise about health care... i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters...

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breaking news. a helicopter hits a crane and crashes to the ground in flames in central london. facebook takes aim at google. it rolls out its own search

engine. a police seat on live television turns in to an up close event for one viewer. >> it is wednesday, 31 minutes after the hour. more on our breaking news out of london. a helicopter has crashed after hitting a crane killing two and injuring at least two others. this happened during rush hour next to a very busy commuter hub at a time when thousands of londoners were heading to work. firefighters and police are on the scene right now. we'll stay on the story throughout the morning. president obama officially unveiling his gun control plan today. a source tells us it will call for universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, a ban on high capacity magazines that hold more than ten rounds, and more funding for mental health programs. the white house calling the plan "common sense measures" that

protect second amendment rights. the nra saying it will be a very expensive and hard fight. and oregon sheriff says he will not let his deputies enforce any new gun regulations that he, he personally, considers unconstitutional. tim mueller wrote a letter to the white house in protest. it was posted on on the agency's facebook page. >> you can ban every firearm out there, and it's not going to fix it. people that will commit these kind of heinous acts, they'll find a way to do it. >> k.o.i.n. reports mueller does think treating mental health problems is helpful. at least one other sheriff in kentucky says he will not comply with the new gun laws. later this morning wolf blitzer anchors special coverage as the president unveils his gun plan. joan wolf stajoin wolf starting 8:30 a.m. 37. a police beating in

henderson, nevada. dash cam video shows the officer pointing a gun at the suspected drunk driver. turns out the driver wasn't drunk but was this diabetic shock. he won a nearly $300,000 settlement from the city of henderson. and now the grand jury is hearing evidence against the officers. the crackdown has long begun on texting while driving, but la abo what about texting while flying? in a new proposal, pilots would be proceed hinted from using personal electronics at any time during the flight except those that relate directly to the operation of the plane. good-bye google. that's what facebook is hoping you're say. the social networking site has unveiled its own search engine

called graph search. graph search mines data from facebook users. for example if you want to find the best sports bar in your city, graph search will let you browse which ones your friend hes have checked into. executives say the engine can help you find your next job, a doctor. the company is hoping to change the way you use the internet again banking on the idea that you'd rather get recommendations from people you know than from strangers. but if you are looking for something outside your social zone, facebook has seemed up with bing to let you search more broadly. and for those concerned about privacy, mark zuckerberg says you will be able to control what you want people to see. and remember myspace? it has a new look and new service. myspace rebranding itself primarily as a music sharing social network. it lets musicians share music.

justin timberlake used the new site to unveil his brand new single suit and tie. myspace is opening to beat out sites like pandora. i was checking out your myspace page. you haven't updated it since 1984. >> i vaguely remember myspace. and i had prodigy with aol, as well. >> sometimes you can be first, but the question is if you're first, will you be last. will you last. >> 36 after the hour. former south carolina governor mark sanford expected to announce today that he's running for congress. sanford's political career really imploded in 2009 after he disappeared and later admitted he was having an affair with a woman in argentina. just this week, his ex-wife decided against challenging sanford for his old house seat. jenny sanford said it would be more productive to focus on raising her child than running for the house.

and despite her recents health scare, bill clinton says hillary is doing great. he made a bold prediction about theo outgoing secretary of stat. >> she's always been very, very healthy and she has very low blood pressure. i tell her that she's still got time to have three more husbands after me. so i think she'll live to be 120. >> hillary clinton as you know is recovering from a blood clot in her head. in englewood, california, a woman -- a man, rather, has experienced his own version of reality tv. he was watching a high speed chase on television when all of a sudden the car with the cops in hot pursuit passed right in front of him. police eventually arrested the driver. said he was only a boy although they declined to re veal his age. so believe it or not, this picture you'll see tells only half the story. coming up, the bizarre train

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you're looking at the city of atlanta where it is currently 64 degrees. it will drop to 60 later on. and you are in for a rainy day. so who doesn't love going out to dinner? may think twice after you see how many calories are packed into some popular restaurants. elizabeth cohen is live in atlanta. how many calories are we talking about? >> an enormous amount. in one dish, you're getting calories should you get in an entire day.

i think americans expect fast food is high caloried. i think you don't get that even in a nice restaurant, sometimes you're getting even more calories. take a look at two dishes. this one right here is cheesecake factory he's bistro shrimp pasta. 3120 calories. >> did you say 3,000? >> yes. that's a 3. yes, you heard that right. and you're supposed to get about 2200 calories a day. so it's way more than you're supposed to have in an entire day. as a matter of fact, that one dish is the equivalent calorie-wise of 5 1/2 big macs. you would never sit down and eat 5 1/2 big macs, but that's what's in this dish. and let me show you another one. this is called veal porter house and crispy red potatoes and that has 2710 calories.

again, more than you're supposed to have in an entire day. it is the equivalent of three pints of ben and juerry's ice cream. >> 3,000 calories in a single dish. i didn't think that was ma mathematically possible. how you can spot what the high calorie unhealthy meals may be? >> there are certain key words should you look for. you think like shrimp for example, how could i go wrong. seafood, right? what you want to do is on the menu look for certain terms. for example, if you see something that says cream oig, that sauce, that's an issue. battered, breaded, crispy, stuffed, all of those mean there's probably a lot of calories in this dish. but i also want to tell you what the company said about this. because we reached out to cheesecake factory and didn't

get a response. but the other restaurant said we do our own nutritional analysis and it's not as bad as what the center for science in the public interest found and they also said our dishes are served in generous portions. perfect for sharing or enjoying later at home. so of course if you eat a quarter of it and bring the rest home, that's a whole different scenario. >> and eat it over the next two or three week. that list of five terms, those are some of my favorite words. >> of course. >> so wondering what i'm going to do. we talk about calorie counts going on the menus. when can we expect that it become a reality? >> obamacare required it. they think it was just about insurance. but obamacare said you have for put it on the menu if you're a big chain and they published thing and it seems to not quite have happened. and so in that case, since it hasn't happened, you have to be an empowered restaurant eater and find out the facts on your

own. sosmartphone, there's tons of apps that will tell you the calorie count. so don't wait for the restaurants to tell you. >> all i can say is wow. elizabeth cohen, thanks very much. save the big macs for me. >> i will. you can read more of her reporting on cnn.com/empowered patient. a stunning site for commuter this is central london as a helicopter collides with a construction crane. the latest on this breaking story coming up. and if you're leaving the house right now, you can watch us on your desktop or mobile phone. copd makes it hard to breathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator

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48 after the hour. there is breaking news. two people are dead, at least two others injured after a helicopter crashed into a crane on top of a new building in central london. the chopper plunging to the ground near a major transit hub during rush hour. thousands of people now caught in traffic in london. quite a scene on the ground. president obama is about to unveil his gun control plan. a source tells us it will call for universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and a ban on high capacity magazines that hold more than ten rounds. and it will call for more funding for mental health programs. the nra already attacking the

president over this plan, releasing an ad calling him an elitist hypocrite for being skeptical about armed guards at schools when his daughters get secret service protection. a woman whose husband was killed in the colorado movie theater massacre has filed a lawsuit against the psychiatrist who treated james holmes and the university of colorado where the doctor works. the suit claims the psychiatrist knew holmes was dangerous and should have alerted authorities. the bus stops here. a city wide strike by new york school bus drivers set to begin within the hour. it would affect who amore than 150,000 students. this is their first school bus strike in 34 years. so a 20-year-old cleaning lady allegedly made this epic his. swedish officials say she commandeered an empty commuter

train before it crashed in to a three story building. she was air lifted to the hospital with serious injuries. luckily no one inside the building was hurt. take a look at this adorable puppy. he survived an 80-foot plunge off a cliff. he has broken ribs, head draw marks but vets say he's doing okay and expected to make a full recovery. animal control officers are searching for his owners. they believe he was abandoned. look at that. >> how could you an back done a face like that is th? >> i know. this video shows how far communist chinese leaders will go to silence critics. literally dragging protesters away and throwing them into vehicles. here is steven yang. >> reporter: this video may be shocking to watch, but it's quite a familiar scene for those of us who have covered this

country for a long time. this one widely circulated clip, a young protester after being interviewed by german tv was dragged away by plain clothes police. the incident took place last week in southern china where protesters had gathered to demand press freedom. ever since the arab spring, chi nee chinese authorities have become more concerned about social stability. this is a country facing many problems such as income inequality and social injustice, just like in those arab states. so many local officials have increasingly resorted to the kind of tactics you see in the video to science their critics or other troublemakers. and the goal of maintaining stability has become so rnt for the authorities simply don't seem it care that foreign media is present. last august, i covered a high profile murder trial of the wife

of a disgraced leader. her supporters showed up in front of the courthouse, but asas i was interviewing them, police started stuffing them into cars and they kicked and screamed in vain. just one more example. china of course has had a new leadership since last october and they have promised reform. saying they would listen to people's concerns and deliver a more just society to all citizens. but judging from what has happened so far, the new leaders are still not going on tolerate anything or minute who dares an challenge the monopoly of power. free press is nothing to take for granted. >> absolutely. they call social stability the most important thing for communist leaders. for u.s. officials, it's human rights. always a conflict between the united states and china. coming up, a packed hour ahead on "early start." our free press loving "early

start" including a live update on breaking news from london after a helicopter goes down in flames by a transit hub can during rush hour. plus he's on a solo race around the world. just him and unforgiving elements on the open water. alex thompson says he'd kill for a big mac right now. but first, you know you're crazy when the cast of honey boo boo tells you to take a hike. forced to part ways with a key member of the cast. that's next. with the spark cash card from capital one, olaf gets great rewards for his small business! pizza! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ] [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve great rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day!

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welcome back. 56 after the hour.

>> what time is it? >> i know. we're taking a look at the top cnn trends on the internet. >> so how crazy is he? here comes honey boo boo co-star crazy tony. he's been kicked off the show. it tmz says the matriarch laid down the law telling crazy tony he's too crazy for their family oriented show. this follows the news that tony was arrested while wearing a gorilla suit last month. drive 800 miles and turn left at croatia. apparently a woman tried to go about 90 miles to a belgium train station. ended up in a completely can different country instead. 810 miles out of her way because she says that's what her gps told her to do. the 67-year-old woman told spain's paper that she was distracted, yeah, i guess so because the trip took two days. she was heading south the whole

time and her destination was actually a couple hours north. in the u.s. it would be like i'm in canada instead of virginia. >> if your gps tells you to jump off a bridge, would you? apparently she would. he enjoys flying royal choppers and the occasional naked romp in vegas. prince harry has been named the most eligible bachelor in the world. he beat out other royal off spring and famous faces like george clooney and tim tebow. harry is the naughty one, the one who goes out with raw women, hangs out with a fast crowd, downs too many drinks and goes home at the wrong moment. that's why we like him best. >> he's just a little bit dangerous, but the right kind of dangerous. >> yeah, we like him. i'm humoring you obviously. jon stewart targeting mr. fib. take a look. >> on monday, lance armstrong

admitted doping while he was winning the tour de france accept tiseven times. what? i believed in you, lance armstrong. i shelled out a dollar for a rubber bracelet that i have somewhere in my house. for you, i did it for you. and when i think of of the fact that i spent a dollar -- it's good news for america's second favorite cyclist, who i'm sure is in there somewhere. america's second favorite cyclist, let's call him bikey joe. the interview airs thursday on the own network, which stands for oprah winfrey not on channel 7 anymore. ear"early start" continues

right now. rush hour horror. stunned commuters watch as a helicopter crashes near commute helicopter crashes near a train station. and the dreamliner grounded in japan after one makes an emergency landing. guns in america. the president set to unveil his plan to combat violence from guns in a matter of hours. good morning, welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. zoraida sambolin off, resting her voice we hope. >> and i'm john berman. it's 6:00 a.m. in the east. a helicopter hit a crane and crashed into the street near the thames river. it happened during rush hour. emergency personnel on the scene right now. two people have been killed and two more have been taken to area hospitals. joining us is dan rivers, live at the scene of the crash.

what is the latest right now? >> reporter: we've got two dead, one critically injured, eight more with minor injuries. helicopter hit a construction crane that was building a skyscraper. in a very busy part of the city. to the south of the thames, near the u.s. embassy, where it's going to be built. there is a main railway line going through there. it's incredible more people weren't killed or injured. right in the middle of the rush hour. the helicopter hit the crane and fell to the ground. witnesses this morning said they heard a huge explosion. amateur footage of lots of debris on fire on the road below. frankly, increasdible this wasn worse. the crane was shrouded in morning mist and fog and that may have contributed to the cause of the accident. obviously, we don't know for certain, but there is no

suggestion at the moment other than that. no suggestion that this is terrorism. >> at the current time, dan what is the situation in london? has this tied up traffic for thousands? >> it's complete mayhem in south london, yeah. the police have shot all the major roads around here, so nothing moving south of the river in the vau xhaul area. they were amazingly quick to respond. the area that it happened in. sensitive as well. where mi-6, where the fictional james bond worked, just around the corner. but on any normal day, there is an enormous place presence here anyway. that may have helped them get there quickly. >> dan rivers, thank you. and the entire fleet of boeing 787 dreamliners grounded

by two of japan's largest airlines. this after yet another safety problem. we're talking about 24 planes grounded total. this time, a passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing after another possible battery error and smoke in the cockpit. this is the latest and most serious incidents, with the plane many see as the future of commercial aviation. federal regulators have promised a sweeping review after several issues in the past two weeks now. president obama taking action today to try to prevent future mass shootings, officially unveiling his gun control plan. this is what we know about it. calls for universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, a ban on high-capacity weapons, and more funding for mental health programs. the debate over gun control has only intensified with members of the national rifle association surging. the nra has touted 200,000 new

members and vowed to fight the plan, saying their second amendment rights are under attack. dan lothian is following the developments. break down the plan for us here. >> good morning, john this is a much-anticipated plan and some of it is cocording to sources w the president has banned in the past. the ban on assault weapons after the connecticut shooting. the president and vice president came out in support of that. that is on the president's list of recommendations. in addition, he hopes to press for a ban on the high-capacity magazines, and a new part of this is with more than ten rounds. that's important, because it would limit the ability of a gunman to be able to fire off multiple rounds, such as 30 rounds in a shorter period of time. and then universal background checks for anyone purchasing a gun would have to undergo not only criminal checks, but mental health checks, whether you are buying a gun at a gun show or

private sales. and finally, one issue talked about, mental illness, everyone agrees that's a component of this debate. the president wants to make sure there are funds available to treat mental illness. the president pushing some things that need congressional approval, but also will be doing some things alone through executive order. white house spokesman jay carney saying the president realizes there are limits to what he can do on his own within the existing law, john. >> we talked about the nra's opposition. overnight, they leasreleased a ad that has generated an enormous amount of controversy and discussion. >> the nra is concerned that whatever is put out, federal regulations could impact second amendment rights. coming out with this critical ad at the same time the president is rolling out his package. going after the president, calling him hypocritical. >> are the president's kids more important than yours?

then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school? >> that ad, running on the sportsman channel, a cable channel that has a lot of viewers who are gun owners and posted on the internet. and not just this opposition, not coming from the nra, but there is a sheriff in oregon who says he will not enforce any federal regulations that he believes will be offending constitutional rights of his citizens, john. >> dan lothian, thank you for being with us. keep it here. later this morning, wolf blitzer anchors special coverage as the president unveils his gun control proposals. join wolf at 11:30 a.m. eastern time. new york, taking the lead on combatting gun violence, freshly signed gun control bill is enforced it could be one of the hardest places to own a weapon. any semi automatic with a

detachable magazine and one military style feature. most gun licenses have to be renewed every five years and background checks required at all gun sales, including private ones. two people killed when an apparent domestic fight erupted in gunfire at a community college parking lot in western kentucky. a third victim, a female in her teens, was injured and transported to a local hospital. police have two people in custody. > chaotic scene at a business school on tuesday. a financial adviser was shot in the chest before shooting himself. both taken to st. louis hospital, expected to survive. police are still not sure what the motive was for the shooting. a big package of federal aid for superstorm sandy victims, finally approved in the house, lawmakers passed the bill, which directs more than $50 billion to storm-ravaged states in the northeast. that's on top of what was

already approved. the disaster aid package will be again considered by the senate after the inauguration. icy conditions for the morning commute. a big winter storm, sleet and black ice posing a threat for the mid-south to the southeast. we have an update on that. >> hi, john. hi, christine. this is the storm system we're talking about. from parts of louisiana to maine, we show you on the radar, the rain, wintry mix and, of course, the snow. we start off down toward the south. for areas like eastern texas and central texas, still looking at a bit of the wintry precipitation. affecting parts of the lower mississippi valley as well as the tennessee valley region. we go through the morning hour, about 6:00 local time, we are going to see an improvement. we move up toward the north, snow coming down for parts of new york and pennsylvania.

and a lot of this is really going to be accumulating in an area just north of interstate 80. we'll help you kind of time this out if you are headed out to work right now for the ice storm warning, parts of louisiana. for mississippi. that goes until 6:00 a.m. and then as we move up toward parts of the mid-atlantic region, this will last until 11:00. where we're talking the snow, and parts of new england, 4:00 p.m., and for maine, up until 10:00 or 11:00 tonight. snow, talking 2 to 4 inches and areas of the north, including parts of connecticut and up toward boston, 4 to 6 inches of snowfall. and we're talking a lot of rain for parts of new york. you saw it there this morning. >> thank you very much. most of america hasn't even seen it yet, but disgraced cyclist lance armstrong's confession to oprah winfrey making plenty of waves. more coming up.

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welcome back to "early start," everyone. lance armstrong finally fessed up. he told oprah finery winfrey t lied when he denied using performance enhancing drugs. the anti doping agency says nothing but a full confession will get them to reconsider his lifetime ban from competition. we are live in austin, texas, with more reaction. george, have you ties to the austin community. people down there felt betrayed and devastated by what armstrong has done. >> john, good morning, it is a mixed bag. i got to work in austin as a local news reporter, long before this story existed that armstrong co-owns here and i grew up here, i went to school here, it's my hometown. i remember what it was like

watching lance armstrong come alone. he inspired people as an athlete and cancer survivor. for the city of austin, texas, he was a source of pride and inspiration. now, looking at it, you can't help but be disappointed. some people are angry about it. when you talk to people on the streets of austin, you get a sense that they haven't lost sight of the good things he has done throughout his career as well. take a listen. >>ith sad, you know, he's -- he's our austin boy, and we're -- again, i'm saddened about it, i don't like it. you know, people make mistakes. he made some mistakes. but as far as like tarnishing the legacy that is, if at the very least what he's done for cancer, i have no problem with him continuing on in that role.

>> reporter: here in texas there, is a saying, being taken for a ride. a lot of people feel like they were taken for a ride. the world awaits this interview on thursday, where he will say in his own words that he did, indeed, take part in doping. >> there are huge repercussions, not just for lance armstrong, people on the receiving end of his what some call attacks when he was denying using performance enhancing drugs, but ramifications for sports in general. and word that one olympics official is speculating that cycling could be dropped from the games. >> from the international -- i want to quote this. he says the only way cycling is going to clean up its act is if all the people say, hey, we're no longer in the olympics and that's where we want to be, so let's hearn our way back into it the idea of taking cycling out

of the summer olympics once or twice so -- >> all right. we have this programming note. that was george howell. our thanks to him in austin. much more, of course, on lance armstrong and the repercussions here. a new version of "the world according to lance armstrong," sunday at 10:00 p.m. eastern, with replays s at 1:00 and 4: a.m. >> americans think he just made some mistakes or a complete fraud? were those mistakes or lance manufacturing, you know, lance as the king of the world? >> we'll reserve judgment until we see the interview. this morning's top stories. two people dead, two other s injured after a helicopter crashed into a crane atop a new building in london. on strike, new york city school bus drivers are walking the picket line. more than 150,000 students

scrambling this morning for alternate routes to and from school today. at issue, the city's plan to privatize school bus contracts. water on mars? could be. nasa says the curiosity rover discovered rocks that were once saturated with water. the rover sent back pictures with deep vains aeins and miner deposits which indicate water flowed a long time. they will drill into the rock to collect samples. >> most telling, the graffiti they found on the rocks. just kidding! an engelwood man, watching a high-speed chase on tv, when all of a sudden it passed in front of him. he's watching it on tv and then it passed in front of him. the driver only a boy who declined to reveal his age. >> that's something you see in a

scorsese movie. >> why is he taking pictures of the tv? another question all together. national headlines, from "the oregonian," the linn county sheriff says he won't let his deputies enforce new laws that he deems unconstitutional. he wrote a letter to the white house in protest. written to joe biden was posted on the agency's facebook page. >> you can ban every firearm out there, and it's not going to fix it. people that will commit these kin of heinous acts they are going to find a way to do it. >> it is worth noting that law enforcement officials are often on the vaqnguard of fighting gun violence and are widely supported of new gun measures. kion reports that mueller thinks treating mental illness is

helpful. one other sheriff in kentucky says he will not comply. and "the washington post," all presidential vehicles will hold a plate, taxation without representation. it refers to residents of d.c. they pay taxes but don't have a vote in congress. the white house says after living in washington for four year, the president recognizes the unfair answer that d.c. residents face every day. they will be on the vehicles for the duration of the second term. >> george w. bush took it off the car after president clinton used it. but obama didn't put it back, and there was a lot of criticism. so this is throwing those people a bone. >> follow us on facebook and twitter, search for early start cnn. a black eye for boeing. dreamliner jumbo jets grounded

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minding your business. more problems for boeing. one of its dreamliner has to make an emergency landing overnight. two cockpit alarms went off and a burning smell was detected. several people injured. all dreamliners injured by japan airlines and ana have been grounded. six incidents since the start of the year with this particular aircraft. richard quest is joining us now from seoul in south korea. why so many issues with this plane? >> if you listen to boeing and

the experts in aviation, they will say they are teething problems that always happen with new aircraft. but there are critic who's say there is something more going on. this is a revolutionary plane, new carbon fibers, new way of assembling it, christine and they say something has gone awry in the supply chain or manufacturing of it. that's why we have an faa investigation. we also now have a japanese registry investigation and the japanese ministry authorities saying today, that today's incident was more serious. now, the plane performed as it was supposed to, there were warning signs and alarms, but certainly the airlines will be saying to boeing, what's going on? >> certainly. as someone said to twitter, i would prefer in the airline wasn't teething at 30,000 feet.

should people be scared to get on a dreamliner? >> no, i don't think so. as i say, the systems work as it is. there is a difference, a fundamental difference between the safety testing that's done on this plane, that's being tested up the wazoo over many, many months, and the operational day in, day out, testing that happens only once the plane starts flying. but here is something that is worth thinking about. you have now got two airlines, jal and ana, who have half the fleet in the air, currently grounded and you've got united airlines, qatar, and a few other airlines that are getting their 787s, and in the hours ahead, we'll want to know whether those airlines still flying the dreamliner also plan to do so, if they don't, why not? and when the japanese planes will be flying again.

it is an extremely confusing environment if you have one set of airlines saying they are grounding and another set of airlines saying they are still flying them. >> how disruptive is this for travelers? >> by and large, almost nonexistent. the airlines will swap in some -- jal and ana have canceled some flights, swapped in other aircraft, absolutely minimal. not at the moment an issue of disruption. >> richard quest, thank you. so three months all alone at sea. coming up, we catch up with one of the most determined competitors we have ever met racing around the world all by himself. in a sailboat. ♪ using cloud computing and mobile technology,

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down in flames. stunned commuters watch as a helicopter hits a crane and crashes near a central train station in london. bad weather. a stretch of rain, snow and ice could put a damper on your commuting and travel plans. facebook takes aim at google. the social media giant rolls out its very own search engine. welcome back. i'm john berman. >> and i'm christine romans inz. more on the breaking news out of london. where a helicopter hit a crane near a very busy area of london. two dead, two taken to area hospitals. president obama officially unveils his plan to battle gun violence. it will call for universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, on high-capacity weapons that hold more than ten rounds and more funding for mental health

programs. an ad calling him an elitist hypocrite has been released by the nra. keep it right here on cnn. wolf blitzer will anchor special coverage as the president unveils new proposals. join wolf at 11:30 a.m. eastern time. good-bye google? that's what arch rival facebook hopes you will say. it has unveiled its own search engine, called graph search. graph search mines data from facebook users, collecting information from things you liked or tagged, for example, if you want to find the best sports bar in your city, graph search will let you browse which ones your friends have checked into. facebook execs say it could help you find your next job, find a doctor. they are banking on the idea would you rather get recommendations from people you know than from strangers. if you are looking for something outside your social joan zone,

facebook has teamed up with bing. and myspace. remember myspace? the site has a brand new look. rebranding itself primarily as music sharing social network. it has tools to help you discover new artists and songs, and the singer justin timber lake who owns a big chunk of myspace. he used it to unveil his new single, "suit & tie." >> do you trust you your friend more than experts? >> i trust my friends. facebook says you will be able to use your privacy tools so other people aren't going to know what are you searching for. i get concerned about privacy stuff. >> a big giant move for facebook. 2 3 2 mi 32 minutes after the hour. a winter storm, sleet, black ice

posing a threat from the mid-south to the northeast. jennifer delgado is in atlanta this morning. good morning. >> good morning, guys. we already have delays. newark, a ground stop due to snow there and that is in effect until 7:10 eastern time. we'll follow that, and more delays today because of the rain, the snow, the wintry mix out there. in fact, we are still tracking some of that. moving through parts of kentucky as well. into tennessee, but a lot of that will be coming to an end in the morning hours, but heavy rain will continue to pound parts of the south, including alabama as well as into georgia. atlanta, coming down pretty good. now up to the north. talking about snow. affecting parts of pennsylvania and into new york. for major cities, talking rain out there. same for washington, d.c., new york, boston, and you are experiencing snow there now. we will see more coming down as we go through the day. good news out of the story.

the storm system is quick moving. we talk about warnings out there for the ice storm warning to the south. until 6:00 a.m. local time. that is standard time and up toward the northern part of the mid-atlantic. this will be in place until 11:00 a.m. snow at times and sleet as well as freezing rain mixing in. and up toward new england, and it looks like that will last until later this afternoon as well as into the evening hours. snowfall totals, main north of interstate 80. affecting pennsylvania and connecticut and parts of rhode island. boston, you will see some of the snow. heaviest is to the west. snowfall totals, already 4.5 inches in summit hill, new jersey. later today, expecting delays mainly under an hour and that includes d.c., philadelphia, charlotte, atlanta and new york over an hour delay. guys, get used to the rain. sticking around for the day. and some improvement for tomorrow. >> thank you, jennifer delgado,

in the northeast trying to travel, be prepared to wait. >> all right. taking a look at tom cnn trends, superstorm sandy victims, a giant step closer to more than $50 billion in aid. the house approved the relief measure, on top of $10 billion in flood insurance passed to help those in the ravaged northeast. it is expected to sail smoothly to the president's airlidesk. the latest in the series of a problems with the dreamliner. a jal jet made an emergency landing after a strange smell in the cabin and smoke in the cockpit. and the former president admits his wife is indestructible. >> she has always been very, very healthy. and she has very low blood

pressure, very low standing heartbeat. she still has time to hav three more husbands after me. i think she'll live to be 120. >> does that mean she will run for president? >> hillary clinton recovering from a blood clot in her head. coming up, extreme eating. going through some of the most popular spots in the country, not just drive throws, we' throf calories. and we'll talk to alex thompson, live from somewhere on the open water. coming up. ever have a really cool dream?

i'm having one right now. i don't want to be disturbed. and i won't. because before i went to sleep, i set this. now my iphone knows not to ring, unless it's important. 'cause disturbing this would just be .. wrong.

welcome back, everyone. soledad o'brien joins us to tell us what is on "starting point." >> a helicopter crashes into a crane and falls to the ground in central london. this morning, an update on the accident and the aftermath. also, president obama ready to present his new gun control agenda today, called the most aggressive and expansive proposal in years. how will congress react to it? this morning we talk with illinois congresswoman tammy

duckworth and virginia congressman randy forbes. and less of a priority in public schools across the nation, but what is happening to get kids passionate about music that will change their lives. i'm hanging out with swiss beats this morning. what are you guys doing? >> i love it. when you take the family out to a popular restaurant, do you know how many calories in the popular dishes you and the kids are eating? some calories are eye popping. elizabeth cohen in atlanta this morning. good morning, elizabeth. >> good morning, christine. >> making me hungry and not hungry, at the same time. how many calories are we talking about here? >> we're talking in one meal, more calories than are you supposed to get in an entire day by quite a lot. and one of the things i found kind of surprising. we know fast food has a lot of

calories, but these are nice restaurants, where you wouldn't necessarily think it. let's start with the first one. you are looking at the cheesecake factory's bistro chimp pa shrimp pasta. 3,120 calories. >> what? >> supposed to get about 2,000 calories a day. a third more calories -- no, 50% more calories and getting in one dish. the breading on the shrimp that probably does a lot of it. the pasta. all sorts of things and to do a little bit of an equivalent here, the calories in this dish are the same as in 5 1/2 big macs. you would never sit down and eat 5 1/2 big macs, but i can see some people polishing off that plate. the next one we have here, this is the -- i'm so excited about this one. veal porterhouse steak and crispy red potatoes. >> it looks beautiful. >> it smells great too. we microwaved it so it would

look okay. 2,710 calories, more than you should have in the entire day, getting in one dish. the equivalent of three points of ben & jerry's ice cream. wow. and you wouldn't even know you were doing it eat three pints of ben & jerry's, you know have you pigged out. you eat that dish, you think that's just dinner. >> unlike a gresy burger and fries, you wouldn't think these were five greasy burgers and fries. how do you spot a meal you should avoid? >> a couple of ways to do that. first of all, a lot of us have smartphones these days. look up the calories in a lot of restaurant menus. one good way of doing that. but look for these red flags. for example if something says cream sauce, a red flag it will have an enormous number of calories, avoid things that are battered, breaded, con questo, which means with cheese. crispy, which means it's fried

and stuffed, because it's stuffed with something really delicious and fattening. when you see those words, turn the other direction, find something else on the men yuchl. >> that's what makes it so delicious. >> and you decide you don't care, weight is not a problem for me, or i'vebeen really eating well the past couple of weeks, i'll go crazy and eat this 3,000 calories here, whatever, go for it. but know what you are going for, know what you are doing. >> and take someone else, get another plate and share. >> speaking of which, we reached out to cheesecake factory and maggiano's. cheesecake factory didn't get back "usa today," but maggiano's, said our dishes are served in generous portions perfect for sharing or enjoying later at home. they also do their own testing and said that they found significantly less calories.

they say that different restaurants do things differently and that may account for the differences. >> elizabeth cohen, good morning. happy breakfast. >> thank you. >> go have granola and low-fat yogurt. >> absolutely. >> read more at cnn nnch nnc cnn.com/empoweredpatient. a woman whose husband killed in the colorado movie massacre has fired a lawsuit. she is taking legal action against the psychiatrist who treated james holmes and the university of colorado where the doctor works, the suit claims that the doctor knew holmes was dangerous and should have alerted authorities. mark sanford, launching his political comeback today with announcement he will run for congress. sanford's career imploded in 2009. remember, he disappeared and later admitted he was having an affair with a woman in

argentina. his now ex-wife decided against challenging sanford against his old seat. it would be more productive to focus on raising her child than rubbing for house. a 20-year-old cleaning lady made this epic mess. she come an deered an otherwise empty commuter train before it crashed outside of stockholm. >> unclear why she needed a train. >> 45 minutes past the hour. he is sailing around the entire world all by himself, right now. i had a chance to talk to him before the journey began. take a look. what's the fun part of this? >> there is no fun part in this. >> that's alex thompson. we'll talk to him live about the race and the danger he has encountered aon the way, coming up

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. the mt. everest the yacht racing is in is final leg. a grueling three-month race where competitors sail sola

around the world. all by themselves. harsh elements, loneliness, possibly even death. last summer, we introduced you to one of the amazing racers, alex thompson. >> three months alone with no amenities. >> toilet? >> i did? >> there she is. oh, there she is. >> yeah. right next to the toilet is the galley. >> kitchen. >> that's a bag of food. >> just like in restaurants. >> and then this is for sleeping. just like this. >> so it is not one bit glamorous, extremely dangerous. we are now joined by alex thompson who is currently running in fourth place as he sails around the world on the hugo boss racing yacht. off the coast of brazil. alex, you have been at this now for more than 60 days all by yourself. how are you doing, pal?

>> doing great, thanks, john. can't believe it's been 60 days already. a good race so far and i'm in the final stages. the boat is a little bit tired, i'm a little bit tired, but still on it, and anything can happen. >> so where are you? >> i'm about 100 miles off the coast of brazil, sailing in trade winds. 20 knots of wind and the boat doing about 16 knots at the moment. probably see the water rushing past in the background. >> a stunning, stunning view to see you sailing right now live off the coast of brazil. currently you are running in fourth place. you are taking a bit of a different route than your competitor. explain to me what are yyou are doing. >> well, the guys were a little bit ahead of me, and as the

weather changes, their route became impossible for me to follow, and also, you know, if you follow somebody, are yyou a much less likely to overtake them. the nearest guy behind me, 1,200 miles back there. so i'm taking a little bit of a gamble, trying something different and hopefully i'll get the reward. >> i've been following you on twitter and facebook all along as you sail through the southern seas. frigid conditions, awful sailing and had you a really close call with disaster. explain. >> well, yes. i've got two little devices that set off the back of the boat that generate power, and they are like a hydrogen rater and i had a collision on this side over here, and with something unidentified in the water, that smashed that generator and broke one of the steering bars and i

was left in the southern ocean with no possibility to steer the boat. i managed to sort it out. and didn't lose too many miles and here i am off the coast of brazil. >> great that you managed to push on it did have some effect on you, you grew a rather awful beard. can you explain or justify that facial hair you grew? >> yeah. i -- that situation broke my hydrogen rater, so i can't generate power, so i have to con serb pow conserve power, so i can't use the power to shave. and i have a little handlebar type number now. but thankfully i'm clean shaven now again, john. >> as we watch you sail off the coast of brazil, more than 60 days by yourself.

your boat seems to be going pretty fast and listing a little bit here. is this completely safe what are you doing now? >> absolutely. this is quite normal. got about 15 degrees. doesn't look like it, but it's not too bad. and i'm in the trade winds, very constant, not too gusty, bright and sunny. in the southern ocean, big, dark clouds. and the wind can gust from a force 1 to hurricane swell of 60 knots of wind in less than 2 10 minutes, so this is exciquite relaxing in compareson to that. >> how many more days do you expect to be out there? >> it's always a bit of a guess, but i'm hoping be very close to the end of the month.

so another two weeks and hopefully i can see my wife and give my little baby boy a cuddle. >> congratulations on everything you have achieved so far. best of luck. truly stunning to talk to you out there. wave to brazil as you go by there. >> i will do. thanks a lot, john. >> all right. by the way, he sleeps about 20 minutes at a time. doesn't sleep more than 20 minutes at a time. all by himself out there. 20 days left to go. he tried this before. had major mishaps, never completed the solo around the world race if he does finish and knock on wood, fairly smooth sailing left to go. first time he ever completed. an amazing accomplishment. >> you asked him to take a second to wave to brazil, he doesn't have a second. he is in the fight to win. >> he is in fourth. probably won't move up, but

finishing a race like this is an amazing accomplishment. coming up, the new incident that led two big airlines to ground the highly touted dreamliner. what are you doing? nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go... we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office.

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claiming to we her mother signed a child out of a philadelphia elementary school. they are screening the girl to see if she was sexually assaulted. this man is wanted in connection for the beating of an

elderly man on a subway train. this man has not yet been captured. there he is. craving for corn dogs turned into a $1 million miracle for one family. this man and his wife had been living off unemployment when a stop for food at a local mini mart changed everything. dunn bought one $8 quick pick and won $1 million. things looking up for this family of five. >> to go to a car lot and pick any car, never thought i would be able to do that in my life. >> they also plan to buy their very first home. >> good for them. lose your cell phone? don't blame wayne dobson. in "the las vegas review journal." there is a glitch to the find my iphone app. it keeps sending people who lose the iphone to the same guy's house. they keep showing up at all hours of the day. forced him to put